The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 85

Arabella was off work and at home again today. She didn't have to be here, but she wanted to see the look on their face when Dorian and his families left in disgrace. So, she stuck around with Beatrice. She kept her mouth shut during Dorian and Beatrice's conversation. As a junior, she knew it wasn't her place to butt in.

But she never expected that Dorian would suddenly turn the spotlight on her and force her to make a choice.

She clenched her fists, bit her lip, and her eyes welled up with tears. "Dad, are you cutting ties with me too?" she asked pitifully.

Dorian's face remained expressionless, his tone steady. "I'm asking you to choose. If you choose to follow me, you can't come to Hawthorn Mansion anymore. If you choose to stay with your grandmother, you can't come to see me. Arabella, you can't have it both ways. You have to decide."

Making Arabella choose was his intention.

He had been very disappointed with Arabella's behavior and character over the years. Especially after Vivienne returned, Arabella's actions left him even more disappointed.

His relationship with Beatrice was broken, he had made his choice, so Arabella, as his adopted daughter, must also make a choice.

"Dad, why are you and grandma on such bad terms? You used to get along. Grandma is old, she has her own troubles. I may be an adopted child, but I've always considered you and mom my real parents. I wish we could all be happy."

Arabella's eyes were red and swollen, she cried. "I know that ever since my sister came back, she has been against me, thinking I stole everything that belongs to her, but I didn't mean to. Dad, can't you mend things with grandma? I don't want to leave you guys!"

Dorian frowned, his voice low and chastising, "Enough!"

His voice was almost a roar. Arabella had never seen him so angry, and she flinched.

"Your sister has never been mad at you. She never even mentioned you at home. Where did you get the idea that she's against you? Arabella, ask yourself, in the two years you've been in my house, your mom and I sacrificed ourselves for your well-being, right? Thaddeus is my own son, and sometimes he goes hungry, but I've never let you go hungry."

Arabella hung her head, not saying a word.

But there was a fleeting smirk in her eyes that no one noticed.

If she had a choice, she wouldn't want to be adopted by Dorian. His family was poor, while the Hawthorns lived in luxury. The Hawthorn girls could wear designer clothes, while she had to make do with budget clothes.

That's why she curried favor with Beatrice and got herself back into the Hawthorn family. She didn't think she did anything wrong. Who doesn't want a better life?

She was just not born as fortunate as Vivienne. If she had a better birth, she would definitely be more successful.

"I admit that we're not wealthy, but ever since you came, I've tried my best to treat you well. I admit I have ulterior motives, because I hope someone could treat Vivienne as well as I treat you. But I can say for sure that I've never treated you poorly. On the contrary, you seem to always be complaining that we didn't give you the best things!"

"Dad, that's not what I mean." Arabella seemed a bit impatient.

Did she really have to listen to him go on like this?

If Dorian was useless in the Hawthorn family, she would rather they cut ties with Beatrice as soon as possible.

"Whatever you mean, I don't want to say more. I can see you're annoyed." Dorian glanced at her coolly. "Just make a choice now, stay or go, it's up to you." Arabella bit her lip lightly, a glint of coldness in her eyes, but she still pretended to look hurt. "Does it have to be this way? Can't we all just get along?"

"Yes, it has to be this way." Dorian said seriously.

"Then... I choose grandma." Arabella only hesitated for a few seconds before making her choice.

This was within Dorian's expectations. He wasn't heartbroken, just nodded and told the lawyer, "Mr. Dylan, please add this condition and have Arabella sign."

Mr. Dylan had no objections. He looked at Beatrice.

Beatrice nodded, and Mr. Dylan added the condition.

Everyone read it over, and once they agreed, they all signed.

After signing, Dorian pulled out another paper from his pocket and handed it to Beatrice. "This is the full formula."

He didn't wait for Beatrice to reply and left with Cordelia and Vivienne.

No one in the Hawthorn family seemed to care or be sad about his departure.

Beatrice looked over the formula, verified that it contained two additional ingredients, and passed it to Michael. "Hurry up and get the R&D team on it. We need to develop this perfume as soon as possible." She paused, then added seriously, "Remember, we can only succeed, not fail. The comeback of the Hawthorn family depends on this perfume."

Michael nodded. "I understand, mom!"

Joseph suddenly said, "But developing the perfume requires funds, as does the subsequent marketing. We don't have much money left."

"Don't worry about the money. If it comes to it, we can sell my jewelry. I've calculated it, and the cost of R&D and marketing should be around half a million. My jewelry should be worth that much." There was no chance of getting a loan.

The Hawthorn family already had loans from several banks that were about to mature. Therefore, the banks were unlikely to lend them any more money. Joseph sighed. "We have no other choice."

Outside a massive tree by the Hawthorn family mansion, two men with binoculars were stationed.

"Thomas, Dorian's gone and he didn't bring out the potion. Are we still on stakeout duty?" A guy asked his colleague, Thomas.

Thomas put down his binoculars, took off his earpiece, and said, "Let's bounce."

Half an hour later, Thomas was back at Percival's crib.

"Mr. Ellington, Dorian didn't hand over any potion to Beatrice. It looked like he gave her a perfume formula, but we need to dig deeper to be sure."

They were at quite a distance, so all they saw was Dorian handing over a piece of paper to Beatrice, which seemed to be about perfume, but the authenticity was up in the air.

Their investigation wasn't just about what they saw or heard, they trusted hard evidence.

Percival was lounging on the sofa, his slender fingers slowly drumming on the armrest. His voice was low and slightly husky, "Find a way to get that paper from Beatrice. See if it's connected to the potion. Also, comb through every single detail about Dorian again."

"I've already sent Kevin to snoop around the Hawthorn family."

Kevin was the bald guy who was with Thomas earlier.

Thomas initially planned to just take off, but he felt something was off, so he had Kevin seize the chance to investigate the Hawthorn family.

After a moment of silence, Thomas said, "Mr. Ellington, are we really investigating Dorian? He is Ms. Vivienne's dad, you know..."

"Even if he were my dad, I'd still investigate." Percival had a gut feeling that Dorian knew something about the potion's whereabouts.